Gay San Francisco couple wins deportation reprieve

Bradford Wells and Anthony John Makk, a bi-national, married gay couple who have lived most of the 19 years of their relationship in San Francisco’s Castro district, today won a two year stay against the threat of deportation, thanks to the personal intervention of their representative, House leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and state Sen. Mark Leno, a Democrat who represents parts of San Francisco, also provided assistance.

Makk is a citizen of Australia married to Wells, a U.S. citizen who suffers from AIDS-related illnesses. Makk is his primary caregiver. Makk was denied consideration for a green card based on his marriage to a citizen by the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, which bars all federal marital rights and responsibilities to same-sex couples. The law covers not only immigration issues but also hundreds of tax, Social Security and other federal laws.

“We’re still dizzy from the news,” said Makk. “We are elated.”

“I’m relieved, really excited and relieved,” Wells said. “I am so grateful I don’t have to worry about Anthony being taken out of the country.”

Their case was first covered by the Chronicle last June and touched a nerve, becoming SFGate’s most widely shared story of the year on Facebook, shared by 75,000 people. Their case received national and international media attention.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a letter to Makk today saying he has been granted “deferred action” on his case for two years. The letter said the action is “an exercise of prosecutorial discretion” that allows the agency not to pursue deportation for a specific period. Makk met multiple conditions of the agency’s new guidelines for immigration agents to prioritize deportation cases, including family ties, status as a primary caregiver, lack of criminal record and his long period of legal residence under a series of visas that eventually expired.

Pelosi broke the news to the couple herself today, and issued a statement calling the resolution of the case “a personal victory for Bradford and Anthony” that “keeps this loving couple together.” She said she would continue to fight for repeal of DOMA.

Steve Ralls, a spokesman for Immigration Equality, the advocacy group that championed their case, Makk can now remain lawfully in the United States, as he has since first entering the country nearly two decades ago. The so-called deferral is also renewable, meaning it could be extended when it expires in two years.

“Although this is not a permanent fix, it is a very signficant fix for them, and ensures that at least for the near term, they do not have to worry about separation,” Ralls said. “Anthony will be able to remain with Bradford and care for him.”